My Ladybug
by Michelle285
Summary: This is kind of a scene I would like to see if there was ever a PD 3. Joseph and Clarisse are married, Mia and Nicholas are married...and there are kids!


_Disclaimer: Yes, I do own! Well…at least I own one character._

 _A/N: I have absolutely no idea where this came from, but it popped into my head one day and, as is custom with plots that pop into my head, I had to write it down. This is a lot longer than I originally planned, but once I got started, the words just kept coming! The timeline is: About seven years after PD 2, Mia and Nicholas have been married for almost that long. Enjoy!_

"Grampa! Grampa!" A little voice called out.

Clarisse smiled as a little girl of four ran into her suite. "Something you need, Kaylee?"

"I need Grampa!" Kaylee emphasized. "Where is he?"

"Right here," Joseph said coming out of the bedroom.

"Grampa!" Kaylee squealed again and launched herself at him. Joseph just managed to catch her in his arms.

Clarisse couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at seeing her great-granddaughter hugging her husband. She knew he was great with Mia, but she had been a teenager when they first met her. She had no idea how he would be with smaller kids, but from the moment Kaylee was born, she had him wrapped around her little finger.

"What did you need, Ladybug?" Joseph asked the little blonde girl.

"Why do you call me ladybug?" Kaylee asked. "I'm a princess, not a _bug_!"

"Ladybugs are actually beetles," Joseph pointed out as he sat down in a chair, settling Kaylee in his lap.

"Gross!" Kaylee exclaimed.

"Ladybugs are also considered to be good luck," Joseph continued, hoping that would have the opposite effect.

Kaylee tilted her head. "I guess that's cool. Why?"

"It's not really known for sure," Joseph told his great-granddaughter. "However, most people believe it's because they eat pests that are harmful for gardens."

Kaylee immediately looked out the window and Joseph knew she was imagining the rose garden that she loved to "work" in with Clarisse. "So, if there were no ladybugs, the rose garden wouldn't exist?"

Clarisse had to smile at the over-simplication that Kaylee's four-year-old mind created. "Something like that."

"Didn't you need something, Kaylee?" Joseph asked, trying to bring her back to the reason she had shouted for him in the first place.

Kaylee studied Joseph for a minute and bit her lip. "Are you going to call me Kaylee now?"

"Isn't that what you wanted, sweetheart?" Clarisse gently asked.

"No!" Kaylee exclaimed, not even looking at her great-grandmother.

Joseph tried to hide his smile. He bounced Kaylee on his lap. "Okay, okay, don't get so upset."

Kaylee sighed. "Thank you."

"Now, you came in here looking for me because…" Joseph let his sentence trail off.

"Oh, yeah," Kaylee said, seeing to have just remembered. "Will you take me horseback riding? Mommy is too busy being queen and Daddy keeps claiming he hates horses."

"Isn't Nicholas an accomplished rider?" Clarisse wondered.

"Just because he can ride doesn't mean he likes to," Joseph pointed out.

"Grampa!" Kaylee interrupted. "Can we go? Please?"

Joseph skimmed his hand over her blonde ringlets. "Of course we can."

"Now!" Kaylee cried.

Quickly stealing a glance at his watch, Joseph smiled. "We'll have to check with your mom." He lifted Kaylee off his lap so he could go call Mia.

Kaylee looked at her great-grandmother. "You could come too, if you want. We could have a picnic by the lake, or something?"

Clarisse gently cupped Kaylee's cheek. "That sounds wonderful. I'll have to change though."

"Me too," Kaylee agreed after looking down at her outfit. "I can't go riding in this dress!"

Clarisse chuckled. She knew that, at Kaylee's age, "riding" consisted of her sitting in front of Joseph on the horse. Mia kept promising to teach Kaylee how to ride properly (sidesaddle included), but right now, Kaylee was too short for her feet to even reach the stirrups.

"It's a go," Joseph told Kaylee.

"Great!" Kaylee exclaimed. "Grandma is coming too! Could you call the kitchen and see if we can get a picnic basket so we can have a picnic by the lake? We ladies have to change anyway."

As Kaylee dashed out of the room, Joseph and Clarisse were laughing. "Does she remind you of Mia in that aspect?"

"Not needing a breath when she speaks?" Joseph asked, knowing that was what his wife was referring to. "Definitely."

-%

Mia smiled at her daughter, bouncing up and down beside the chair Mia was sitting in. Kaylee was dressed in what she called her "riding gear" and currently telling her mother all that she and her great-grandparents were going to do this afternoon, talking a mile a minute.

As soon as Joseph and Clarisse entered the room, Kaylee again ran to Joseph, still talking to her mother.

When Kaylee was safely ensconced in Joseph's arms, Mia laughed. "Kaylee, honey, take a breath."

"She reminds me so much of someone else I know," Clarisse teased her granddaughter.

Mia tried not to smile at her grandmother. "I can't imagine who you could be talking about."

"Ready, Ladybug?" Joseph asked Kaylee, knowing she would be saying something in a matter of seconds to make sure the occupants of the room hadn't forgotten about her.

Mia couldn't help but feel her heart melt just a little at Joe's gentleness and his obvious love for her child. She hadn't really been worried that he wouldn't be good with Kaylee, but she also hadn't been prepared for the depth of devotion she would see in his face every time he looked at her little girl. Then again, she knew she should've been. Joe was the type of person that loved very few, but gave those he did every piece of his heart.

"Is she ready?" Mia asked, laughing. "She has been ready for the past thirty minutes, telling me all about the afternoon you all are going to have."

"Good," Clarisse said. "I'm actually looking forward to this afternoon. It's been a long time since I've been horseback riding."

"It's going to be so fun!" Kaylee said, obvious excitement radiating off her.

"You wiggle around anymore and I'll drop you," Joseph told Kaylee. He pretended to lose his hold on her. "Whoa! See!" Kaylee narrowed her eyes at Joseph's joking, but sat considerably stiller.

"Hey, you'd better be careful with her," Mia teasingly warned. "She's the heir to the Genovian throne. We can't have anything happening to her."

Joseph looked at Mia, all playfulness gone from his blue eyes. "I would never let anything happen to her."

"I know, Joe," Mia assured him quickly. "I was just teasing. Just like you were, about dropping her. I know you'd never do that either."

"Grampa dropping his precious ladybug?" Nicholas laughed, having just walked into the room. "I don't believe it."

Joseph rolled his eyes. He looked at Kaylee. "For future reference, you're much prettier than a ladybug."

Kaylee threw her arms around Joseph's neck. "I love you, Grampa."

Joseph felt his heart squeeze. He loved this little girl more than he ever thought possible. He closed his eyes and whispered. "I love you too."

"Awww," Mia cooed. "Who knew that Joey could be such a softie?"

Joseph narrowed his eyes at her. "One of these days, Princess…"

Mia couldn't help but laugh. "Love you, Joe."

As they were walking out of the room, Joseph called over his shoulder, with exaggerated difficulty, "Love you too, Princess."

Mia and Nicholas looked at each other. "He's so great with her," Nicholas pointed out.

"I never would've thought it," Mia admitted. "Though I don't know why it shocks me."

Nicholas walked over to her and pulled her to stand in front of him. "They're going to be so excited when you tell them."

Mia gently put a hand on her stomach. "I guess I should do that pretty soon, huh?"

Nicholas put his hand over hers. "Probably. Although it'll look pretty bad on me."

"How's that?" Mia wondered.

"A man who's not really your grandfather being more excited than your own husband," Nicholas joked. He knew Mia thought of Joseph as her grandfather and he had only said that to make a joke.

Mia full out laughed. "He probably will be more excited than you were."

"I have no doubt," Nicholas said. "However, since Kaylee's gone with them, we could celebrate a little more."

Mia smiled. "Well, I have a few more things to sign here…"

At that moment, Nicholas' phone started ringing. "I'll expect you in our suite in ten minutes." He said, walking out of the room.

Mia shook her head in amusement and sat back down in her chair. She relaxed back into the fabric and brought a hand up to gently stroke her stomach where a new little life of barely eight weeks was growing. She couldn't believe her life had turned out to be this perfect. Twelve years ago she was an invisible high school student and now, she was the queen of a beautiful and prosperous country. Even now, when she thought about her life in great detail, she was still shocked at how it turned out. Regardless though, she knew she wouldn't want it any other way. It was perfect.

 _Well, what did you think? I wasn't trying to focus on the Clarisse and Joseph romance here, even though I love them together. This was solely focusing on Joe and the love he had for little Kaylee. I think he would be incredibly cute with Mia's kids. Let me know if you liked it. You can't do that though unless you review. Thanks for reading!_


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